Nepal snatched the Plate in a thrilling one wicket win over New Zealand which they completed with one ball to spare

The Bulletin by Andrew McGlashan18-Feb-2006
Scorecard

They did it … Nepal celebrate © ICC
Nepal pulled off a thrilling one-wicket win in the Plate final against NewZealand, with two balls to spare after they appeared to be dead andburied at 75 for 6. Basant Regmi was the hero with an incredible allroundperformance, hitting a sparkling 66 off 74 balls to follow his 3 for 41.However, he wasn’t alone in the amazing finish as Ratan Rauniyar showedhis batting prowess after Nepal had started the final ten overs needing 70 towin. When Rauniyar carved the winning boundary backward of square it sparkedscenes of wild celebrations as all of the Nepal players and staff sprintedon to the field.They had reached the Plate final in 2002 but lost toZimbabwe; this time they pulled it off … and in amazing circumstances. Shockresults have been like London buses in this tournament: it may have taken 38 matches for the first – when Nepal downed South Africa – but then another came along almost straight away.Roy Dias, Nepal’s Sri Lankan coach, could hardly contain his joy: “Afterthe 2002 final it is just great that we have got across the line – for theplayers and the country. People will celebrate a lot because it is veryimportant for Nepal. We have beaten two Test-playing nations and that’s agreat achievement for the youngsters as they can now believe inthemselves.”Dias added that he never thought the target was out of reach: “I knew wehad batsmen lower down the order and we just needed a partnership. Evenwith one wicket left we only need a run-a-ball plus the odd boundary.”The captain, Kanishka Chaugai was equally thrilled: “It’s a bigachievement for me because, for a lot of this side, it is the last time wewill play Under-19 cricket and to take home some silverware from the Plateis amazing.”Chasing targets has been Nepal’s problem in this tournament and they againappeared to be caving in under the pressure. After a promising openingstand of 36, wickets tumbled at regular intervals as the Kiwis tightenedthe noose. But Nepal hadn’t got to this stage of the tournament withouthaving some real fight – and now they showed it in grand style.Firstly, Regmi in partnership with Prem Chaudhary began to fray somenerves in the New Zealand camp. Still, though, it was hard to think that Nepalcould turn the game on its head, especially when Chaudhary and SashiKesari, the Supersub, fell in quick succession to leave them floundering at 148 for 8.Regmi, however, refused to give in and encouraged Rauniyar to hang inthere with him. New Zealand tried all they could to separate the pair, butslowly the pressure began to tell. Fielders started letting boundariesthrough their legs and the tension was showing as the final overs cameinto view.With four overs to go they needed 34; by the last it was down to nine. TheKiwis were rattled, so much so that they conceded a no-ball in the finalover because they didn’t have four fielders inside the circle. That wasthe moment they finally cracked – with the next ball Nepal secured anastonishing victory.All the New Zealanders could do was stand with hands on hips. Theycertainly hadn’t been at their best in this match, but this was a bitterpill to swallow. Their batting had scraped to 204 thanks to Todd Astle’s 66then the bowlers, especially Hamish Bennett, performed their roles withaplomb for at least 35 overs. However, they have learnt – and in the harshestpossible way – that there is never a time to relax.Colin Munro had seemingly settled any early nerves in the field with twoearly wickets as Nepal began their chase, and some useful spin bowlingmeant New Zealand had one hand on the Plate. However, it was only the loosest of grips and the trophy was snatched from their grasp by a Nepal side that has been one of the stars in this World Cup. If tomorrow’s Super League final lives up tothis it will be some match.